IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 663 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the current situation 

in Iraq and the urgent need to protect religious minorities from persecution from the Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group the Islamic 

State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) as it expands its control over areas 

in northwestern Iraq. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 10, 2014 

Mr. VARGAS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on 

the current situation in Iraq and the urgent need to 

protect religious minorities from persecution from the 

Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group the Islamic 

State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) as it expands its control 

over areas in northwestern Iraq. 

Whereas Iraq is currently embroiled in a political and religious insurrection stemming from an Islamic State in 

Iraq and Levant (ISIL)-led offensive that began in the 

Anbar province and has spread to key locations such as 


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•HRES 663 IH 

Mosul, Tikrit, and Samarra and continues to engulf the 

region in violence and instability; 

Whereas ISIL is a transnational Sunni insurgency whose ideological and organizational roots lie in both al Qaeda in 

Iraq and the Syria-based Jabhat al Nursa and has a 

stated mission of establishing an Islamic state and a caliphate across the Levant through violence against Shiites, non-Muslims, and unsupportive Sunnis; 

Whereas Iraq’s population is approximately 31,300,000 with 

97 percent identifying themselves as Muslim and the approximately 3 percent of religious minorities groups comprising of Christians, Yezidis, Sabean-Mandaeans, Bahais, Shabaks, Kakais, and Jews; 

Whereas the Iraqi Christian population is estimated to be between 400,000 and 850,000 with two-thirds being 

Chaldean, one-fifth Assyrian, and the remainder consisting of Syriacs, Protestants, Armenians, and Anglicans; 

Whereas the Iraqi constitution provides for religious freedom 

by stating— 

(1) ‘‘no law may be enacted that contradicts the 

principles of democracy’’; 

(2) ‘‘no law may be enacted that contradicts the 

rights and basic freedoms stipulated in this Constitution’’; and 

(3) ‘‘[This Constitution] guarantees the full religious 

rights to freedom of religious belief and practice of all individuals such as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean 

Sabeans’’; 

Whereas over 500,000 people have been displaced by the current situation in Iraq and reports have surfaced of tarVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:43 Jul 11, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR663.IH HR663

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•HRES 663 IH 

geted harassment, persecution, and killings of Iraqi religious minorities by ISIL with little to no protection from 

the Iraqi Government and other security forces; 

Whereas the fall of Mosul in particular has sparked enough 

anxiety among the Christian population that for the first 

time in 1,600 years there was no Mass in the city; 

Whereas over 50 percent of Iraq’s Christian population has 

fled since the fall of Saddam Hussein, 1,100,000 people 

of diverse religious backgrounds remain internally displaced and the government under Prime Minister Nouri 

al-Maliki has not upheld its commitment to protect the 

rights of religious minorities; 

Whereas the United States has provided over $73,000,000 of 

cumulative assistance to Iraq’s minority populations since 

2003 through economic development, humanitarian services, and capacity development; 

Whereas 84,902 Iraqis have resettled to the United States 

between 2007 and 2013 and over 300,000 Chaldean and 

Assyrians currently reside throughout the country, particularly in Michigan, California, Arizona, Illinois, and 

Ohio; and 

Whereas President Barack Obama recently declared on Religious Freedom Day, ‘‘Foremost among the rights Americans hold sacred is the freedom to worship as we choose 

. . . we also remember that religious liberty is not just 

an American right; it is a universal human right to be 

protected here at home and across the globe. This freedom is an essential part of human dignity, and without 

it our world cannot know lasting peace’’: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


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•HRES 663 IH 

1 (1) reaffirms its commitments to promoting and 

2 protecting religious freedom around the world and 

3 providing relief to minority groups facing persecu4 tion; 

5 (2) calls on the United States Department of 

6 State to work with the Kurdistan Regional Govern7 ment, the Iraqi central government, neighboring 

8 countries, the diaspora community in the United 

9 States, the United Nations High Commissioner for 

10 Refugees, and other key stakeholders to help secure 

11 safe havens for those claiming amnesty in Iraq; 

12 (3) respectfully requests the addition of a Spe13 cial Representative for Religious Minorities to be in14 cluded in Prime Minister al-Maliki’s newly recon15 structed government; and 

16 (4) urges the Administration to expedite the 

17 visa processing for Iraq’s minority groups and to lift 

18 the quota cap for Iraqi-Christians in order to 

19 streamline the process of accepting refugees by re20 allocating immigration quotas rather than increasing 

21 the 70,000 refugee limitation. 

Æ 


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